Gerry Giovacchini believes the tumors in his neck, arm and eyes, as well
as one in his spinal column that fractured two vertebrae and invaded his
right lung, were caused by radiation exposure during the 26 years he
worked at Sandia/California National Laboratories in Livermore.

In 2002, he applied for compensation through a government program for
Cold War-era Department of Energy workers exposed to radioactive and
toxic materials that made them ill.

But five years later he still hasn't been paid.

Tom Chatmon's job at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory for 14 years was to
oversee and transport plutonium, uranium and other radioactive
materials. He contracted multiple myeloma, a cancer that has been linked
to radiation exposure.

His compensation claim, filed in 2002, was denied in November.

Bill Piper was a machinist at Livermore lab for 15 years. He had to
retire early after eye cancer left him unable to do precision work; he
died two years later. His son filed for compensation in 2002 and was
denied after two appeals in 2006.

These are not just the stories of a few people who have fallen through
the cracks.

Since 2001, when the federal Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act went into effect, 148,181 claims have been
filed. Of those that have been decided, 38 percent have been approved.
Thousands have been waiting for years for a decision.